National Cyberstrategy 2024: The Cyber-Defence Campus’ contribution to the digital resilience of Switzerland
On 14 May 2025, the Federal Council acknowledged the first implementation report on the National Cyberstrategy (NCS). The report showed substantial progress in the implementation of the five strategic goals of the NCS, from strengthening self-empowerment to international cooperation. The Cyber-Defence Campus (CYD Campus) of armasuisse Science and Technology (S+T) makes important contributions in many of these areas, through research, innovation promotion and practically oriented cyber exercises.
Andrea Thäler, specialist area Cyber Security and Data Science, competence sector armasuisse Science and Technology
The implementation report on the National Cyberstrategy (NCS) documents the status of national work to strengthen cyber security. It has been developed by the NCS Steering Committee in cooperation with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
Research for the cyber resilience of the future
The CYD Campus is continuously driving security-relevant technological research on behalf of the Swiss Armed Forces and the Swiss Confederation. In 2024, one particular focus was on the security-critical impact of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technologies and post-quantum cryptography.
Through the development of the Technology Market Monitoring Platform (TMM 2.0), patent data could be integrated for the first time to identify technological trends early on. This enabled a targeted assessment of opportunities and risks for national security. It was supplemented by in-depth studies on vulnerabilities in the Domain Name System (DNS) and the security of AI systems.
From prototype to application – innovation through proofs of concept
One important innovation activity is the Fellowship Programme of the CYD Campus, which was set up in cooperation with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne. In 2024, more than 20 CYD fellows were active at master, doctorate and postdoc level. Many of these works led to proofs of concept, which were followed up or piloted in the cyber defence area. For example, for testing the security of Bluetooth devices (BlueToolkit) or to analyse vulnerabilities in software (Morion).
In addition, innovative solutions for safeguarding AI were specifically sought in 2024 in the Cyber Start-up Challenge. The winning solution will be tested in 2025 in practical deployment by the Swiss Confederation.
Exercises and test scenarios for the case of emergency
A further key element of the CYD Campus is the development and implementation of practical training formats. In May 2024, the CYD Campus organised a crisis simulation as part of Cyber Training @ the CYD Campus with representatives from critical infrastructures, prosecution authorities and the administration. The goal was to test real reaction processes to a fictitious cyber event in the energy sector, to facilitate valuable insights for the participants and to improve coordination in the event of an emergency.
In addition, the CYD Campus also took part in large-scale international exercises, such as Locked Shields, in which AI-based automation was tested in the area of cyber defence.
Promoting exchange and securing knowledge
To bring together research, practice and politics, the CYD Campus once again hosted its CYD Campus Conference in autumn 2024. More than 300 participants from the administration, industry and the science sector discussed current challenges such as quantum computing, next generation networks and the use of AI in cyber defence. The high point of the event was the award ceremony for the Cyber Start-up Challenge.
Conclusion and outlook
Through these initiatives, the CYD Campus not only promotes technical expertise, but also the dialogue between the different stakeholders in Switzerland’s cyber ecosystem.
With its interdisciplinary, practical and future-oriented work, the CYD Campus is making a key contribution to implementing the National Cyberstrategy. Through research, training, test scenarios and innovation promotion, it strengthens the digital sovereignty and resilience of Switzerland and makes it fit for the challenges in digital space.